From Goa to Goa via Darjeeling.
I visited Goa ten times but travelled India proper three times. See the conservation blog for 2012 and 2013.

The 1996 journey took three months.

Leaving (in those days) quiet Anjuna via Mapusa (pronounced Map-sa) for Pune on a 12 hour overnight bus ride nightmare, I witnessed the terror of lorries leaving survival up to the Gods when they pull out and overtake. The driver of the bus was finding it hard work too. Tip: To avoid Bombay going north 'Poona' is the quickest bypass route as Bombay is best avoided for travelling through

Pune - Northern Maharashtra - Was a staging post for me, hotels are thin on the ground. The hotel Ritz was out of a Dickens novel Get away: Took an early morning luxury bus: 7 hours

Aurangabad - Northern Maharashtra - And here we arrive at the Taj already, well no actually, this is the Bibi-ka-Maqbara built in 1679 t…

Enfield Bullet 350cc / Enfield India
Motorbike in Goa, fun to be had on classic British motorbikes in India (made in India)

(click pictures to enlarge) I don't have a motorbike licence in England but have always wanted to drive a big bike, so in India how could I resist the Enfield? Not really a performance bike, more a cruiser I never saw the speedo over 40 m.p.h they have a lovely sound more like a lawn mower than a motorbike. Most Indian bikes are not that well looked after, but a rough bike is just as much fun to get used to.

These days in Goa it is no longer illegal to hire a motorbike and you can now hire an official tourist bike, much more civilised.
My 1995 bike
My 1995 bike
My 1994 bike
My 1995 bike
My 2003 bike
My 1994 bike
My 1995 bike
My 2003 bike
My 1994 bike